Gaps in persistence under open-access and tuition-free public higher education policies

Authors

  • Cecilia Adrogue National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)/San Andrés University
  • Ana María García de Fanelli National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)/Center for the Study of State and Society (CEDES)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3497

Keywords:

Higher education public policies, Dropout, Graduation, Higher education, Argentina

Abstract

The massification of Argentine higher education intensified in the context of open-access and tuition free public university policies. Although Argentina stands out in relation to enrollment in higher education, it faces serious problems in terms of retention and graduation. To study the factors associated with dropout in the higher education system, we use the Permanent Household Survey, or EPH, to measure these phenomena. The EPH is a quarterly national survey that systematically and permanently collects data on the population’s demographic, educational, labor and socioeconomic characteristics. Based on the EPH, we calculated the global dropout and graduation rates by socioeconomic status and gender and used logistic regression models to estimate the effect of some demographic, socioeconomic, institutional and financial factors on dropout probability. Among the main findings, we observed that the socioeconomic status and being a first-generation student matter. We detected that being a first-generation student, even after controlling for the socioeconomic status of the student’s household, gender, the type of institution (tertiary non-university or university) and having a scholarship, implies a higher probability of dropout. We conclude that these results are most germane to public policy design and possible replications of this methodology in other Latin American countries.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Cecilia Adrogue, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)/San Andrés University

Dr. Adrogué is an Assistant Research Scholar of the CONICET. She works in San Andrés University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a visiting scholar at the Center for International Higher Education of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College. Dr. Adrogué has published widely on economics of education issues. She holds a PhD. in Economics from San Andrés University and she is a professor at Universidad Austral in Argentina.

Ana María García de Fanelli, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)/Center for the Study of State and Society (CEDES)

Dr. García de Fanelli is a Senior Research Scholar of the CONICET. She works at the CEDES in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she was director from November 2008 to November 2012. Dr. Fanelli has published widely on comparative policies in higher education in Latin America and has participated as senior researcher in comparative international research projects. Her Master’s in the Social Sciences is from the Latin American Social Sciences School (FLACSO) and her Ph.D. in Economics is from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. She is a professor at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Downloads

Published

2018-10-08

How to Cite

Adrogue, C., & García de Fanelli, A. M. (2018). Gaps in persistence under open-access and tuition-free public higher education policies. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 26, 126. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.26.3497

Issue

Section

Articles